Contractor's view from both sides of the fence

July 01, 2011|By Leslie Mann, Special to the Tribune

Roger Freeman, an industrial engineer with training in welding, shows off one of his products, a gate installed by Freeman Fence Inc., at the company base — his bungalow in suburban Brookfield. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune photo)

Hanging wallpaper, yes. Fixing a dripping faucet, maybe. But installing a fence is not a chore the typical homeowner tackles.

"Some try," said Roger Freeman, owner of Freeman Fence Inc., in Brookfield. "But they don't dig the post holes deep enough to pass inspection or they can't get the posts straight. One guy bought posts the same height as the fence, forgetting to account for the hole depth. Another left his concrete bags in the rain, so they turned into rock. They realize it's harder than it looks, so they call us."

Half of Freeman's clients need a fence to "keep their kids and dogs in and the neighbors' kids and dogs out," he said. The other half are upgrading their property by replacing a fence or adding fencing to enhance new landscaping.

Freeman Fence does not have a showroom by intention, said Freeman, to keep overhead at a minimum and customers' costs lower. "Most of our customers check our website (freemanfence.com) first to get an idea of what they want," he said. "Then we bring them samples."

His base is the lower level of his Brookfield bungalow, easy to spot because of the nice fence. He remodeled his home to resemble a North Woods hunting lodge, with a stone fireplace and pheasants frozen in time thanks to taxidermy.

Part of Freeman's job is knowing the various Chicago-area fence ordinances. "Many homeowners don't realize they vary a lot," he said. "Inverness doesn't allow fences, for example. Some don't allow privacy fences. Some don't let you put a fence up against the neighbor's fence. And the guy who asks for the 'tallest fence you can give me because we don't want to see our neighbors' has to go along with the height limit in his town."

Homeowners association regulations are trickier, said Freeman, because they change more frequently. He tells customers to call the board and get the latest rules.

Robert Frost said "good fences make good neighbors," but Freeman adds that new fences sometimes rile neighbors. "Every neighborhood has a wacky neighbor and a Gladys Kravitz," he said. "I avert problems by knocking on their doors and telling them what and when we'll be installing. Usually, they just want to know what we're doing."

When it comes to cost, wrought iron is the most expensive type of residential fencing Freeman uses. Aluminum costs less but looks similar. Freeman's favorite is wood-look composite, which costs more than wood but lasts longer. Vinyl and chain link are the cheapest, however, they are not allowed in neighborhoods that require pleasing aesthetics. But chain link is high on Freeman's commercial customers' want lists for its cost-benefit ratio.

"Customers today want 'green,' but they don't realize that it's not just the composite fencing that's green," said Freeman. "Many of the iron fences are made of recycled steel. The western red cedar we use comes from Canadian managed forests where six trees are planted for every one cut."

Freeman also installs specialty fencing such as deer fences (8-foot-high mesh stretched across black steel posts and designed to blend in with forested backdrops) and coyote fence roller tops that prevent the smart critters from climbing over. Parents of Big Wheel-age children like his motorized gates across driveways because they protect children from riding into the street and open by remote control or cellphone.

Another specialty: cedar pergolas. "They help define an outdoor room and give a little shade," he said. "Graduations and July Fourth parties — those are the deadlines we get because they are having parties."

An industrial engineer with training in welding, Freeman can fabricate custom iron fencing and gates. Welding was his entree into the field. "Some customers ask us to incorporate their initials, hobbies or company logos," he said. "I was making more money moonlighting for a fabricator than at my day job as an engineer, so I switched careers," he said. He formed his own fence company in 2003 with college buddies Jim Weinrauch and Ross Papke.

Before he begins an installation, Freeman obtains permits. He hauls old iron and steel fences to a metal recycler. A landscaper chips the wooden ones.

After marking the fence location with nylon string and stakes, he uses gas-powered augers to dig the post holes. Most fence codes require the holes to be 36 to 42 inches deep and filled with concrete, which takes four to 24 hours to set, depending on the type used and the level of moisture in the ground. "We never know what we will find," said Freeman, who has dug up old bottles, foundations, bricks and a World War II bullet. He returns later to install the stringers (horizontal sections). Many homeowners now request decorative features, too, said Freeman, such as caps made of copper, brass or stainless steel.